LivingSocial latest company to pull their app from Windows Phone

In June, 2013 the Groupon-like site LivingSocial released an app for Windows Phone 8. Although not quite as popular as Groupon, LivingSocial (LivingSocial.com) did have its fans. However, that 1.0 version of the app never saw a single update and nearly two years later, the company has pulled the app from the Windows Phone Store.

It does not take too long to realize why, either. The app had apparently broken as many recent reviews reported "no network connection," making the LivingSocial app all but useless for its customers.

LivingSocial likely had the app built by an outside party, probably contracted through Microsoft. Instead of hiring a developer to maintain the app, LivingSocial abandoned it and hoped for the best. Now that the app has ceased functioning, they are likely without recourse to offer an immediate fix due to not having a dedicated developer.

The loss of the Windows Phone app is also not a shift in the company's mobile strategy, as the iOS version of LivingSocial was updated just last month with support for ApplePay.

LivingSocial was never one of our top apps and with just 184 reviews on the Store, it never did seem to catch up to the branding of Groupon. Speaking of, Groupon for Windows Phone has not had an update in 8 months as it too withers on the Store with increasingly negative reviews.

Windows 10 cannot come fast enough.

Thanks, rprs78, for the tip!

Reader comments

LivingSocial latest company to pull their app from Windows Phone

People are naïve of they think losing a big name application is not going to harm an ecosystem. Well if you are talking only one, only one not one a week, then no, but this is not the case. I see a lot glass half full people and Windows fanboys commented on these topics. "Was a piece of crap; I didn't use it anyway; use 3rd party; Rudy", well you know, that's no going to bring people over for 3rd party apps and low level phones, at least in the U.S. We need stuff and the best stuff, and before 2 people saynotme, look how many Samsungs and iPhones have sold. They didn't sell because of all their 3rd party apps. People have become too blind because they do not want to admit. Will this be the end of Windows phone, I highly doubt it. I will say that it wont be strong in the market and it will struggle to survive, more and more apps will leave or just be abandoned.

I used the app, it was decent. Definitely needed updating, however. Side note, is it just me or are the ads on windows central getting more annoying and time consuming to load? There is a full pager from MetroPCS that forces me to swipe it out of the way to scroll any content. Using a Lumia Icon, so I don't think it is my connection speed or phone lag.

Even though this app was never that great or well supported, that in itself speaks volumes (as previous discontinued apps have) about the state of Windows phone app parity. Being a big advocate of Windows phone and having left the likes of Android and iOS, I can see clearly the discrepancy. The fact that this app sucked, so badly, shows that sees developers/companies care that little, about Windows phone, to even TRY and create something respectable.

That does put some blame on Microsoft, because something compelling has to drive, these companies, to WANT to develop for the platform. Of course, Win 8/8.1 even WP7, were solid platforms, but certain steps to me (like carrier exclusivity) did nothing to push forward adoption of the platform.

At this point, to reiterate what Daniel said, Windows 10 is looking great. We obviously, said the same about Windows Phone 8/8.1, but I wager (again) that Universal apps (if widely adopted) could end that issue. If a developer was keen on getting the biggest reach from his/her app, then the Windows 10 plan, makes the most sense. Everyone, including those without a smartphone could discover and benefit from their efforts.

To drive this type of excitement, Microsoft NEEDS to bring out some MONSTER flagship windows phones. They don't have the luxury of mass adoption from a bigger loyal base, the likes of Apple and Samsung can get away with incremental.steps and still sell tens of millions of devices. Microsoft has to bring everything they got. I'm talking 50MP, ultra HD, 3GB Ram, type phones. Yes, those specs are ridiculous, but so is HoloLens. We NEED ridiculous right now, from Microsoft. I don't want what's a smart, incremental step. These next flagships need to be LEAPS AND BOUNDS above anything currently offered. That's the only way you'll get people to lift their head and take notice. HoloLens did that. Now deliver that level of advancement to your phones.

Thanks for reporting these, Daniel. I must say though, Living Social's "app" was never an app. It has always been pathetic. I feel it's foolish to judge usage without taking into account usability. That "app" was a poor excuse at best.

Here's my view on the whole Windows Phone debate. People are buying Apple & Android Phones because of the way they look, not because of Apps. The sad part is this, yes Android & Apple have very beautifully designed phones that are slim & sleek, but the downside to that is they all need a case to protect it making those phones bigger & wider. Also if people really knew how much profit per Apple & some Android phones they might start to second guess as they pay more in taxes while these companies make between $300-$650 on average & leave us to makeup for what they don't pay in taxes. I mean it cost Apple about $200 on average to build a phone & they profit on average $650, which is huge considering that they come out with a new phone every year with minimal upgrades. But consumers aren't well educated & buy what everyone else has.

Yes Microsoft as well pays minimal taxes, but they're profit from their Mobile Phones is razor thin. If Microsoft could design a phone that was rugged enough to not need a case to protect it, while making it slimmer & little more lighter that fit into to your hand without struggling not to drop it they could easily cut a huge chunk out of Android & Apple market share. Since Microsoft already makes little profit from their Mobile Devices this would be a brainer with universal apps and could make a huge dent in the Corporate world. How much would companies love to have an OS that can allow their employees to be more productive and have more control for IT departments over all end users devices?

It's pretty simple, but it's up to Microsoft to execute if they want to gain more market share in the mobile phone category.

LivingSocial was an app I installed, but never used. I won't miss it. But on the future with Windows 10, Daniel is spot-on. Windows 10 will open a metric f-ton of doors for developers who get in early.

And human psychology is a pain:
People perpetuate negativity far more than positivity.
People fear anything different from what they are used to.
Put the two together, and you have a lot of people unfairly viewing something different as negative, which in turn fuels the very negative perceptions they heard and then pass along themselves.

Overcoming that is a major feat in and of itself, and Microsoft definitely has their work cut out for them to do it. Not just for Windows Phone, but Windows 10 as a whole. They are going to have to get people to look past what they hear and judge it for themselves. The single biggest aspect here is getting the apps people want. The single most common complaints I hear is "it doesn't have the app I want" or "the same app on x platform does more". That needs to change. Microsoft could ramp up workshops, courses, etc. and have them available at the same level and frequency as others (any given week, you can find a Swift for iOS or AndroidStudio course or workshop in my area, but next to nothing for Windows/Windows Phone). Then, take charge of marketing. Stop relying on resellers, carriers and word of mouth. You need the "hey look at me! see what I can do that you can't!" ads out there enough to get noticed and raise brows. That drives to looking at the platform, and in turn drives adoption. End users adopt, then they want support in their jobs, ergo Enterprise adoption soars.

*That's the short "I haven't thought through all the details yet, but here's a few 50,000 ft view things.." version.

Combined with opening up so that Universal Applications go beyond mobile devices and into desktops, TV sets (IoT devices maybe?), and Consoles, this can be a tremendous change and open whole new markets for those who write apps to get into the Enterprise, and for those business-minded folks to also get the consumer space.

It's a huge mountain to climb. And I certainly hope the apps falling off are more because they are moving to Windows 10 development because it's coming sooner than planned (other feed notes Windows 10 may be RTM'd by summer now).

Honestly, just make Android apps run (and run well) on Windows 10 for phones. I'd just get Windows 10 for the features, but for those who are understandably dependent on apps on other platforms, might as well let the robot enter.

That's crazy... I just thought about that app a couple of days ago when I ran across the site. I had totally forgot about it. Hopefully Groupon gets it's act together soon and hopefully this is will come back better as well.

To be honest, they are just a bad company who can't compete with Groupon. For a "deals" site to not be in every possible platform is a sign of a much larger issue.
I just remembered I asked them years ago to support a WP app and they said they had no intention to develop one. So I find it hilarious I learn about their app as they pull it! I wonder why people didn't use it!

Hard to believe the world ends when a crap apps pulled! Surely its the whole WP experience that sells a system and not only apps (but app fans, who install 100s of apps, but never use em) ....But app obsession bugs me.

I really hope Microsoft makes an incredible browser experience on phones with Project Spartan. Windows devices need consumer software that actually stands out from the competition (like MS Office does), and so far apps are still significantly behind in quality and quantity. I really hope the browser will support more internet video sites like Amazon Prime Instant Video. I want the browser on my next Lumia to be as good as the browser on my Surface. Fortunately, Windows 8.1 (for PCs and Tablets) doesn't rely as much on [poorly developed] apps.

I found it out in the hard way yesterday. Showed up in a restaurant and this app didnt work. Came home, researched and found that its gone from the store. Hopefully they come back with a universal app in the near future. Otherwise its a loss to them. Thanks Daniel for the write up.

Excellent !/s
But I hope my idea is right
All Xap apps must be re-written to be "appx formatted" and be universal apps
So maybe they still have an idea of remaking the app , them and the others that pulled their apps ;)

Depends on various factors, usually it comes down to the costs / benefits argument for most companies. In regards to chase and bofa... Not really sure as the benefits outweigh the cost, a bank thrives on the number of customers it has.

However pulling apps several months before Windows 10 is launched is pretty brainless and short sighted imo.

There was one on here talking about this the other day. AD Revenue! Why waste time supporting an app that only gets a few downloads or ad clicks, when you can support it on ios & addroid where millions of brainwashed users (kids) think clicking on ads is fun.

My WP8 program was 0.3% of sales in 2014. Win32 was 99.7% (I don't make iOS or Android versions of my programs). Would it even be worthwhile to spend the dev time to convert from WP80 to Universal given that all Windows devices above a Windows Phone can already run my Win32 programs? Seems like a better business plan would be to abstract away from Direct3D in my WP80 C++ core so that I could port the code to OpenGL ES on iOS and Android more easily.

Isn't it interesting that all these companies started pulling or cancelling their WP apps after apple pay was announced and hyped. I guarantee that apple is paying these companies' to remove their apps just like carriers get paid for pushing non Microsoft phones. Windows 10 will not be able to change that.

The app situation failed RT/Phone and will continue to fail on Windows 10 unless something is done to change the average user's popular perception of the Windows name in general. Most people hate Windows and are sick of using it. Just read the comments anywhere online whenever there's an article about Windows or IE.

Yeah that too but I'm afraid that the whole Windows 8 situation could have pushed too many away for good. I still hear people complaining about Windows 8. They are like eewww what are these tiles and where is my Start button/Desktop. Too dumb to figure out how to use something or embrace something new. Install free Classic Shell and click on Desktop for crying out loud!

Why would they want to try Windows 10 now? More and more desktop users have switched over to non-Windows devices like iPads and they are happy with it's ease of use compared to anything Windows.

The app was broken because they didn't care. They didn't care because the platform doesn't have customers and its user base is increasingly being coralled into low-income users using low-end devices outside of the United States. How many times in any given week can the hive mind point the finger at someone other than MS?

Yeah why would W10 users on the laptop or PC start using modern apps all of a sudden? They will just use their browser like they always have. Devs won't suddenly be drawn to W10 because of upgrades- they still wont care about apps the way they didn't care about Windows 8.

I think mostly people will use it for the games , email & social network... Other than that Im not really sure. I hope they will overhaul the windows 10(phone) system and ui make it better and on par with ios & android os. Need more commercial too..

Yeah why would W10 users on the laptop or PC start using modern apps all of a sudden?

They won't. I have recently been given a Windows 8.1 tablet for work, and the modern / metro apps are very poor. They take ages to load, lack functionality, and feel clunky, like some kind of Fisher-Price toy.

Modern apps should be able to run as fast as, or faster than, x86 apps.

I'd love universal apps to be the panacea Windows Phone needs, but I remain unconvinced. Nobody has been able to explain how universal apps will attract Android and iOS developers to support the Windows platform.

Cutting off your nose to spite your face. The hope is that the app ecosystem will grow. If that includes organizations that left in the pre-Win10 world, then that'd be a really good sign.

Also, one thing I think that's not mentioned - an app leaving the platform always seems to merit its own story, prompting all of "the sky is falling" comments. Yet when an app joins the platform, it's often deemed not worthy of its own article in the press.

You know, I think this is the worst time to be leaving the market, because it gives the chance for smaller guys to move into their territory before Windows 10 is released. Once 10 is out, I can see a lot of people scrambling to get back in the doors and try to reclaim what they so willingly reliqushed. I'm hoping a lot of these apps are being pulled because someone realized they need to fix their embaressment of an unfinished app.

Nope, it wasn't. But responses like yours always follow articles like these, trying to downplay the fact that yet another app has disappeared. Good luck with that patch of sand your head is buried in.....

It really was. It would constantly hang and crash on me, which is why I stopped using it. Your notion of "if you disagree with this article, your head is in the sand" is ridiculous and suggests to me that you haven't used the app.

Then your suggestion would be wrong, i can open it right now and it works fine. First deal in the DC area that it shows is "Margarity March". So it works and always has for me but even if it was buggy, having it removed completely is no solution.

And your response is again typical of the head in sand crowd, it was buggy for me so it was the same for everyone and if you disagree you never used the app. Hive mind in action.

@theefman - This. I can't understand why every other response is as if it's not a big deal. 20 missing apps later, will we still be seeing the same level of apathy here? How many pulled apps or which specific pulled apps will it take for some WP users to become concerned?

Jas - you're missing my entire point. I'm not talking about one app, I'm talking about SEVERAL major apps being pulled (or never updated). I've been using WP for 5 years now, never purchased an apple product in my life & as someone that's invested in the platform, all of the several, high profile apps being PULLED, concern me. I am wondering why so many others don't care.

I think the honest truth is a lof of people on this site cant take a balanced look at the platform and just choose to ignore things that are obviously not positive. If all these apps were getting updates they would all say great, keep it up, WP is the best. They get pulled and its all, we dont care, they were buggy, didnt use it, etc missing the point entirely in their rush to be good fans.

Okay, losing these apps is a sign of things going the wrong direction.

Whether the number and/or quality of apps leaving is a significant factor relative the number and quality of apps coming in is unknown to me, and the gravity of today's news is certainly proportionate to whatever that ratio is.

But with as far behind the big two as Microsoft is in app support, I don't suppose they can really easily afford the loss either way.

However, I don't see your comments being any more "fair and balanced" than the people whom you're indicting of pollyanna.

Unless I'm very much misreading you (and feel free to show me my error), your position is basically that the sky is falling, negative, negative, negative, and anyone who doesn't see it either has their head down somewhere...or up somewhere.

If you want fair and balanced then how's about this:

Windows Phone as a UI/OS/Handset is awesome! App support totally sucks! Things under 8/8.1 at best are only modestly improving, and at worst are actually declining. There is this great big huge ray of hope with Windows 10 that could totally turn the fortunes around. Or it could all amount to not much of anything. But you don't know, and I don't know. And Rubino doesn't know. And Belfiore doesn't know. And Nadela doesn't know. Nobody knows. So before anyone trumps the salvation or damnation of the platform, why don't we all just sit on our hands a little and play "wait and see." Today's news is not "no big deal." It's bad news. Maybe it's a harbinger. Maybe it's not. The sky's not falling yet, and there's a potentially very big player in the wings. Let's wait and see...wait and see...wait and see.

There, is that fair and balanced enough for you? :-)

I'm no major Windows fanboy. My phone's an Android, my main computer's a Mac. I have an XB1, but I also have PS4, WiiU, and OUYA. I want a Windows phone more than either an Android or an iPhone. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna go for it so long as the app scene is as bleak as it presently is....

...and yet, I don't think I've ever been so optimistic for, and excited about, and impressed by Microsoft as I am right now, waiting to see what happens with 10.

On the bright side, Windows 10 is shaping up to be a game-changing OS with many hardware partners signing on. The news and announcements out of WinHEC have been nothing short of impressive.

Microsoft can turn this around, especially with the promise of Universal apps, but it will take some time. Between free OS upgrades, updates for pirated copies in China, and even a ROM for Android, market share for the OS could skyrocket very quickly in 12 months.

I use it. But the app for Windows Phone sucked big time, as compared to the other OS counterparts. I ended up not using it at all. Their website layout which is also pretty shitty, is better than the app. So yes, i dont care if it was removed. One less crappy app in the app store, i will say that brings up the total quality (if someone keeps score of such a thing) of the Windows Store.

pulling out app trend will stop if MSFT is able to see significant growth in phone platform. MSFT is claimining Universal apps will be game changer lets wait and watch. Currently windows 8/8.1 have universal app support, trust me its pain to write app that runs on both windows and phone. where as writing for android is way better

They really need to make a w10 that is appealing to consumers eyes. As of now, it looks ugly. No matter how many functions it has, it needs a new face or people won't want it because it looks hideous and unattractive.

Thats not going to change it. What needs to change is the absolute inability to push windows phone to consumers. When the platform is missing critical apps like snapchat and banks and other stuff ot makes it hard to sell it. Windows phone users are basically in it for a cheap phone or its basically a cult now lol.

EXACTLY! Google=No privacy, sell all info. Apple= same ole for years now. I actually think it looks very old, but would prefer iPhone over any phone made by a advertising, anti privacy company. My brother just got a Droid and when downloading an app it wanted rights to what seems like everything possible. That's just wack!!

I think that they should push much more (a lot more) WP in markets like Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. It is obvious to me that USA companies are biased to apple and google. Metric system is all over the world but USA is still using the English system; no one can say that Metric system is a failure.

Game changing on pc's, not sure that'll be the case for phones. What'll actually be left of WP by then, at this rate? This whole "Windows 10 will save everything" is a gamble, and putting all your eggs in one basket is never good.

They've had 4+ years, shouldnt have left it till they only had one option to actually try and push the phone. Even now, hardly any adverts for the platform, so lots of people still dont know about it, whats really going to change with Windows 10?

That has been the plan since a while. I remember Ballmer announced the one Windows initiative along with WP7 and today all that work is about to enter into the market. I have been waiting all these years to remind my friends that I told them several years ago :P

They are good fit for me at work and in my personal life; desktop wise they have no competition and they don't do bad at consoles either. I don't consider the time they are taking for Windows 10 long but if you ask me about launching a new flagship I will tell you that the 930 was launched 2 or 3 years ago and without LTE.

Now about phones, the iPhone users and Android users I have around think that WP does more stuff than their cell phones. Basically the only thing preventing them to switch is the fear to start again.

Many are hoping W10 will be the magic wand to lure devs to the platform. But such was also the optimism for wp8 and 8.1. Still I'm excited about the potential of w10. I can't say I miss any of the apps that aren't on wp, nor do I grieve for those that have departed. They are mostly small time players without ambition

Of the three major mobile formats, Windows is the one I find the most intriguing, interesting, and "cool." It is also the one I most deeply hope to be able to make my next phone when I'm due for an upgrade in Jul 2016.

However, unless app support is MUUUUUCH improved by then, it'll remain an infeasible pipe dream for me, and I'll be forced to pass once again. (I've also heard rumors of bugginess and customer support issues. Can anyone speak to those?)

As it stands right now, even though iOS is the one I like least, it is also the one that I'm most likely to do next time. I dont hate (or even particularly dislike) iOS. I just like Android and Windows quite a bit better (and they're cheaper and more innovative).

But iOS doesn't have the prohibitively bad app issues of Windows, nor do you have to deal with the rampant and early bugginess, or the "wait-forever-for-butchered-versions-of-updates" of Android.

So unless 10 totally turns around the Windows app scene, making it at least a competitive 3rd place by summer 2016, or at least unless Nexus comes out with a handset I can get behind by then that will give me a stable, basically "vanilla" Android experience, with basically instant updates, then for as much as I'm not enthused by the prospect, I will very, very likely be one of "those people"...walking around with a piece of fruit in my pocket - when I'm not talking into it or checking my facebook, that is. ;-)

What pisses me off about these "tier-1" apps is do they advertise in their commercials they have a Windows/Windows Phone app? No one but Amazon does, and even lately I have seen only App Store and Google Play icons. Is it up to Microsoft to provide advertising? And don't get me started with "WP has low market share." They can easily update the final frame of the commercial with the Windows/Windows Phone logos.

Daniel you are 100% right, I believe that Microsoft is pulling all the cards now with windows 10 and I'm really excited to see how all those new features makes a pleasant service that we all going to love and would easily adopt to use all their services, and about the app I must say that I used to use it a lot, but it was really buggy so I stopped using it...

In why way is it game changing? I'm running the previews on an x64 tablet and an extra phone (L635) and can't find anything particularly noteworthy in either product. Indeed, they are, in many ways, steps backwards from the OSes they replaced (especially the PC version).

At this point, I'd say Windows overall us in deep, deep doodoo. On phones, it's dead.

Now whether it will actually result in real progress remains to be seen I guess, but certainly the potential is there to completely change everything for the better for Windows.

At a bare minimum, why don't we all just play a little "wait and see", and let the thing succeed or fail before heaping all this prenatal condemnation on it.

And as far as the 10 "being a step backwards" from previous versions, I can't really speak too much to the phone side since I haven't had a chance to get hands-on yet - though what I've read and what I've seen in pictures all seems to go very strongly against your assertion....and I'm a lot more inclined to believe them.

But I have been a part of the Desktop 10 preview since the very first build and I couldn't disagree with you more about it being a step back. Of course this is your subjectivity vs my subjectivity, so I don't know there's a ton of value in going back and forth on that here, except to say that I think the sunlight coming in through the Windows is MUCH brighter than you're presenting.

Look, my current phone is an Android, and my main computer is a Mac. Yes I have an Xbox One, but I also have a PS4, and a WiiU, and even an OUYA, so I am anything but a Windows fanboy here. And yet, I can't remember the last time I've been so excited by and optimistic for Windows. If everything turns out optimally (and I risk charges of heresy from my Mac friends for saying this), this all may be the thing that wins me back!

Anyway, if you miss everything else I said, don't miss this: "let's just wait and see."

While the OS could be a game changer on the hardware coverage side, I can't see the slow developing disaster of the app side getting any better. Yes the universal app model is great for ease of releasing an app to desktop and mobile, but with MS essentially combining the desktop and WinRT by allowing apps to run in windows on the desktop, what's the point? What's the motivation for LivingSocial to higher a dev and create a new universal app when typical Win10 desktop users will just use chrome and "Windows Mobile 10" users will just be us? I hate to be pessimistic but I don't have a good feeling about the future at all.